Checking the technical condition of the steering
Turning the steering wheel, set the front wheels to the straight ahead position
We put a screwdriver on the instrument panel with the tip to the rim of the steering wheel at its upper point.
Turn the steering wheel in both directions until resistance appears (the wheels do not turn).
Being guided by the tip of the screwdriver, we mark with chalk on the rim the boundaries of the free play of the steering wheel.
Measure the distance along the wheel rim between the marks with a tape measure.
If the steering wheel free play is greater than 90 mm (corresponding to 25°) or 75 mm (20°) for buses, you must make sure that the increase in free play is not caused by wear of the tie rod joints and propeller shaft, play of the front wheel bearings , as well as loosening the bipod nut, hinge pin nuts, propeller shaft wedges and other fasteners.
To do this, we check the tightness of the nuts and bolts of the steering, tighten them if necessary.
The nuts of the ball joints and the cardan shaft must be tightened and cottered.
When turning the steering wheel, we make sure that there are no backlashes in the ball joints of the rods.
Similarly, we check the backlash in the cardan joints of the steering shaft.
We replace defective parts with worn hinges.
If, after eliminating the above backlashes, the free play exceeds the allowable limits, we adjust the steering mechanism.
Adding oil to the steering box
Use a 12" hex wrench to unscrew the plug
Using an oil syringe, add gear oil to the lower edge of the filler hole
We wrap the cork in place.
Lubricating the cardan shaft joints
The articulated joints of the cardan shaft are lubricated through the grease fittings.
In the engine compartment, we clean three cardan joints from dirt.
With a syringe, through the valves of the oilers, we inject lubricant into each of the three hinges until the lubricant is squeezed out of the seals.
If the oil does not come out somewhere, then the lubrication channel of the oiler is clogged.
Then, with the “8” key, turn off the grease fitting.
We wash it in kerosene, blow it with compressed air.
By pressing a thin rod on the valve ball, we make sure that it is movable and locks the oiler channel under the action of the spring.
Replace a defective grease fitting.
Similarly, we lubricate the shaft hinge, which is located under the dashboard
For power steering, see the article - Replacing the working fluid and power steering filter.